Friends & Enemies
by ForShizzleRenizzle
Summary: A familiar face from Walter's past shows up unannounced at the garage one day needing help. Scorpion takes the case, but what trouble with that bring?
1. Chapter 1

It was a quiet day at the garage. The geniuses were all working on various projects of their own. Paige used the downtime to catch up on paperwork for Homeland, filing, paying bills & various other things that fell through the cracks while the team worked on a case.

She was focused on her work until the sound of the garage door closing caught her attention. Paige turned around to see a woman her own age had entered the building. She looked lost & probably was. Paige approached & cheerfully asked, "Can I help you?"

"I'm looking for Walter O'Brien," the pretty blonde replied. "My name is..."

"Hi, Steph," Walter interrupted. Paige hadn't heard him coming down the stairs from the loft. She was a little surprised that Walter knew the woman, & apparently the rest of the team was too. The geniuses had abandoned their work & come to see who the mystery visitor was.

"Hi, Walter," Stephanie answered timidly. Her eyes darted around the garage, overwhelmed by it & her audience. "I'm really sorry to barge in on you like this, but I had nowhere else to go."

Walter remained on the stairs, clearly a little shocked by the woman's presence. "What happened?" he asked.

Tears filled her eyes as she choked out the words, "It's Tyler. He took him." As the woman struggled to regain her composure, Paige quickly walked to her side & put a comforting hand on her shoulder.

"Who's Tyler?" questioned the liason in a soft, sweet voice.

"Her son," Toby answered. "She held her hand to her stomach when she mentioned his name. It's a maternal response." Another country heard from, Paige thought, still puzzled by what was unfolding in front of her.

Sylvester was the first to ask the obvious question, "You said, 'He took him.' He who?"

Stephanie opened her mouth to speak, but Walter beat her to it.

"Her brother...Mark Collins."


	2. Chapter 2

_Thank you to everyone who read/reviewed/followed! I'm just getting started with fic writing, so your comments are very much appreciated. I'm a full time nurse, so these chapters will probably be short & sweet. That will allow me to update more frequently. I hope you all enjoy the next chapter! _

"No way! We are not doing this. Walter, tell her to get out of here," Happy demanded. "How is Mark Collins even out of prison?"

"Kidnapping. That's taking things a bit far, even for Mark. What does he want with this kid?" asked Toby.

"We need to know how long Tyler has been missing. Statistically, our chances of recovering him safely decrease the longer he's been missing," added Sylvester.

Walter stood in front of his team, listening to each of them & working out his own thoughts all at the same time. His mind is amazing, Paige thought. She was watching them from the couch, where she sat with Stephanie & a cup of cinnamon coffee. Her heart was aching for the woman, & she was struggling to find the right words to comfort her. Were there right words? She thought about what she would be feeling if it were her & Ralph was missing. The thought of it gave her chills.

"I'm sorry I caused all this trouble," said Stephanie. "I've already called the police. They're working on it, of course – but I know Mark. They'll never be able to find him. Walter is my only chance of getting Tyler back."

Walter, finally snapping out of his trance, said, "First we need to figure out how Mark got out. Someone get in touch with Cabe to see what he can dig up for us."

"You're kidding me right?" Happy demanded. "We can't get involved with Mark again. This is insane. This is a kidnapping. Let the cops handle it, Walt."

"What if it was Ralph?" Walter asked. "You know as well as I do that Mark is ten steps ahead of the police already – but he won't suspect us. He would never expect Steph to find me.'

"How did she find you? Who even knew Mark had a sister? How do we know this isn't another one of his elaborate schemes to get you back down the rabbit hole?" Happy eyed the woman suspiciously as she spoke, not willing to let Mark Collins near her friends again.

"Whoa, hang on a minute, Happy," Paige said standing from the couch. "Her son is missing. I can see the pain in her eyes. That's not something you can fake."

"It's ok. I understand why she doesn't trust me," answered Stephanie, who was still seated. "I wouldn't trust me either. I'm a Collins, after all," she directed at the mechanic. "But I'm not part of one of his schemes. I haven't seen Mark in years, & I hoped I never would again. I didn't even know he was in jail in the first place until after I found out Tyler was missing. I'm here out of desperation, because Walter is right. The police will never catch up to Mark. I just want my son back."

Tears fell softly down Stephanie's cheeks as she spoke, & everyone watched in silence, not sure how to comfort her. Surprisingly it was Walter that spoke first. "We're going to help you – all of us," he said glaring at Happy. "For starters, we need to know everything you know so far."

Stephanie nodded, wiping her tears. "I know how Mark escaped."


	3. Chapter 3

_Sorry for the delay in updating! Work & real life have both been crazy for me recently. A few nights ago I found an injured kitten on my drive home from work. My husband & I took her to the vet, & she needed extensive surgery. The vet thinks she was hit by a car – not to mention she was a stray & very malnourished. She's home now & doing well, but she has a long way to go until she's all healed. We're guessing she's around 2 months old, so she's a tiny thing. We named her Maisie._

 _This is another short one, but I'm going to make every effort to update more frequently. Thanks for your patience!_

By this time Cabe had been brought up to speed & was reaching out to some of his contacts to try to get some better information. Scorpion was huddled around the young mother, taking in all the details she could offer so they had the best possible chance of finding her son.

"Well, I don't really know how Mark escaped. The police aren't releasing specifics, for obvious reasons," Stephanie explained. "Apparently Mark's cellmate was carrying on a secret relationship with a prison guard. Somehow Mark got wind that he was planning to attempt an escape, & convinced the guy he wouldn't be able to do it without him because of navigating the high-tech security system."

"Manipulating people for his own personal gain...sounds like Mark," said Toby.

"How they actually managed to get out of the cell & trough the jail is not information the warden is willing to share," Stephanie continued. "But they did get out & they went their separate ways. Mark's cellmate was free for 6 hours before he was found & arrested. No sign of Mark though."

"Any idea how they found the guy?" Happy asked.

Just then the garage door opened, & in walked Cabe. "An anonymous tip was made to local police, & both the prisoner & guard were found hiding out in some cheap motel."

"Mark," said Walter.

"It's the most plausible theory at this point," replied Cabe.

"There's a 98% chance that it was Mark who turned them in, considering he was the only other person involved & the prison break is not being reported on the news," Sylvester explained nervously.

"Why is that, by the way?" Paige directed to Cabe. "How can there be dangerous criminals on the loose & it not be reported to the public?"

Cabe explained, "The original story was reported, with the omission of Mark's involvement. As far as the press is concerned, the prisoner was apprehended within six hours. Due to the nature of Mark's crimes, there is a special task for assigned to the manhunt. They felt it was best to treat the case as classified."

"How very comforting," Paige replied.

Clearly unfazed by the new information, Toby continued with the team's questioning. "How did you find out Tyler was missing? I assume a narcissist like Mark would have left a note. He'd want you to know he did it. He needs credit for all his hard work."

With that Stephanie reached into her purse, pulled out a folded sheet of paper & read it aloud to the team. _"He deserves better."_

"That's it?" questioned Paige, both surprised & annoyed at the brevity of Mark's words. The Mark she met liked puzzles. He liked to watch as Scorpion scurried to solve his riddles in time to present a nuclear meltdown. "What does that even mean? ' _He deserves better.'_ Better than what?"

"Tyler is a genius," Walter explained.


	4. Chapter 4

_Hello all! To be honest, it's been a while since my last update because I'm having trouble with this story. I've got all these really great ideas for the characters, but I'm struggling with trying to write the details of the case. There's always so many twists & turns in a Scorpion plot! In the end I think this will be much more about character interactions than it will be about solving the case. This is my first attempt at fic writing, so I'm new to the process. Thank you to everyone who is reading or reviewing this story. I appreciate all your comments! _

_**CBS owns Scorpion.**_

After Walter's revelation about Tyler the team quickly gathered their equipment & created a shared workstation in the garage. Each genius recognized the urgency of finding Mark & the boy before whatever he was scheming unfolded. They didn't have a lot to go on, & Mark had a head start – but if anyone had a chance to catch up, it was Scorpion.

As the team got to work Paige was in the kitchen with Stephanie trying to be a comfort, but falling short of finding the right words. Thankfully, it was Stephanie who broke the silence.

"They're amazing," she said, as she watched in awe as the geniuses worked furiously in front of their computer screens. "I could never do anything like this. I'm not like them...like Tyler or Mark."

"Me either," Paige replied with a warm smile. "In fact, it was Walter who first pointed out that Ralph was enabled. I spent so much time thinking he was just really shy. I don't know what would have happened to us if we hadn't met Scorpion. I know they'll do everything they can to find Tyler too. They take care of their own."

"When Tyler was little I had my suspicions. I started to see things that reminded me of Mark – the way he played with blocks or analyzed mechanical toys. To be honest, I tried to ignore it," Stephanie explained in a shaky voice. She kept her eyes glued to Scorpion as she spoke. "Mark & I never got along. We're so different. I was terrified to have the same thing happen with Tyler. I thought if I pretended not to see his potential, maybe it wouldn't develop." Just then she turned to face Paige, with tears filling her eyes. "You must think I'm a terrible mother."

"No, I don't," Paige reassured her. "I'm a single mom too. I know how hard it is just to keep food on the table. You do the best you can. There's no manual for raising any child."

Stephanie wiped her yes & let out a small chuckle. "I'd give anything for a manual."

"Me too," said Paige as she slid her hand across the table to squeeze Stephanie's.

Just then Toby entered the kitchen. "Mind if I get in on the girl talk?" he asked as he pulled out a chair & sat between the women.

"We haven't been introduced. I'm Dr. Tobias Curtis. Just Toby around here. I'm a psychiatrist, & I'm really good at analyzing people's behavior. I'd like to ask you some questions about Tyler that might give me more insight into his mindset. Would that be alright?"

Stephanie nodded. "Sure. Anything you need from me."

"Okay great! Let's start with some basics. How old is Tyler?"

"13."

"A teenage genius. You've got your hands full. What kinds of things does Tyler do for fun? Video games? Tinkering with electronics around the house? Math problems? Reading."

"He loves computer games. He plays for hours if I let him, which is hard sometimes because he gets so wrapped up in them. It gets hard to break his focus. He's also really good at fixing things around the house – the toaster, a leaky faucet."

Toby nodded, "So he's mechanically inclined like our Miss Quinn, with a little dash of Walter to spice things up. That's great. You're doing great, Steph. Now, can you tell me – does Tyler have a close relationship with Mark."

The young mother wrinkled her nose at the question. "No. Tyler hasn't seen Mark for seven or eight years."

"What about before that?" Toby pressed. "Did Mark spend a lot of time around Tyler when he was younger?"

The young woman shook her head, "Yes, Mark lived with us. How did you know?"

"Sylvester was able to hack into some security cameras around your neighborhood. It doesn't appear that Tyler was taken against his will, so it would seem that he knows Mark well enough to trust him.'

"It was so long ago that we left. I didn't even think Tyler would remember him," Stephanie explained as she stared at the floor & wrapped her arms tightly around herself. "So you're saying...Tyler wanted to leave?"

 _I always seem to end this chapters with a little bit of mystery. Hope you like it!_


	5. Chapter 5

_A lot of readers followed this story after the last update. Thank you all so much! It's nice to know people are enjoying the story._

 **CBS OWN SCORPION**

"He just left with Mark?" Stephanie shouted frantically as she paced around the small kitchen. The sudden commotion caught the attention of the rest of the team, especially Walter. They abandoned their workstations & made their way toward Stephanie, Paige & Toby.

"Yes...& no," Toby answered, trying to keep Stephanie calm. "He obviously remembers Mark from his past, & we all know Mark is a master manipulator. So yes, he left willingly – but we have no way of knowing how Mark convinced him."

Needing something to occupy her nervous energy, Stephanie wet a rag & started wiping the kitchen counter as he continued. "You told me Tyler hadn't seen Mark since he was around five, but before that Mark lived with you. Can you tell me what happened there? It had to be something big to cause an estrangement that long."

Toby's question hung in the air unanswered as Stephanie continued her cleaning. The group exchanged confused glances back & forth, unsure of what to say or do next until the long silence was finally broken by the young mother.

"My parents had two special children. Mark is a genius, which was pretty clear to his teachers at a very young age. His IQ was tested & it was above & beyond what anyone expected. Then there was me...below average in every way." Scorpion listened in silence as Stephanie talked. As she spoke, there was no sign on her face of the emotional turmoil bubbling under the surface. Her expression was blank.

"They put all their energy into Mark. Every resource, every spare minute, got devoted to challenging his mind. I don't think they ever meant to cast me aside, but helping Mark reach his potential became their only focus. Compared to him I had nothing to offer, so it wasn't as if college & a fancy career were in my future anyway."

Paige's heart ached as she listened to Stephanie. She knew all too well the pain of not being good enough for your parents. And even though she only had Ralph, she spent a long time believing he was "challenged," & she still couldn't imagine loving him any less that she did after finding out he was a genius.

"Mark can solve the most complex math problems you've ever seen, but he never learned to support himself. My parents always did that for him. They didn't want him to waste his time working a meaningless job. So, when I came home pregnant at seventeen, they didn't have anything to spare for me. I dropped out of school, I left home & I got my first job housekeeping at a dumpy motel."

"I lived in that same dumpy motel until Tyler was two. Then one day Mark showed up. He somehow managed to hack the IRS & find out where I was working. He told me there was a car accident, & our parents had both died. He asked me to come home so Tyler & I didn't have to live like that anymore. Mark made it sound like he wanted what was best for us. Like you said, master manipulator."

Toby finally spoke, "So that's how you & Tyler ended up back with Mark. But let me guess – he was still living in your parents house with no job, no food in the fridge, no means of doing anything for himself. He was just buried in his work."

Stephanie nodded in reply. "The house was a wreck, & the electric had been shut off. He needed someone to clean up after him & make sure the bills got paid."

"Sounds familiar," Happy said gesturing toward Paige.

"I should have left right then & there. I should have just gone back to the way things were, but I thought this was a new start for Tyler. He had a house to play in, his own room & a kitchen table to eat dinner at. I got a new job at a much better hotel for better money. The house was paid off, so I didn't have to worry about rent. I was actually able to pay all the bills & still save a little bit of money."

Paige was next to speak. "It sounds like a pretty stable living arrangement, but I can't imagine living with Mark Collins was ever easy."

"You have no idea," Stephanie let out a chuckle as she spoke.

"Which brings me back to my original question," Toby interrupted. "What made you leave?"

Stephanie's answer was simple & shocking. "Mark met Walter."

 _I'm already working on the next chapter, so hopefully it won't take too long to update. Thanks for reading! Please let me know what you think._


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